24-year-old woman loses $240,000 life savings in suspected online scam, says she can't stop blaming herself

A 24-year-old woman has shared her heartbreak after losing her entire HK$240,000 in life savings to a suspected online scam, describing the incident as one of the biggest setbacks of her life.

In a social media post, she said she had spent years building up the savings through part-time and full-time jobs. After graduating from secondary school, she worked part-time before taking on a full-time position that required her to work six days a week.

The woman said the demanding schedule left her with little time to spend money, allowing her to gradually save HK$240,000. The money was intended to support her while she pursued her dreams after switching to part-time work due to physical and mental exhaustion.

However, the savings were allegedly wiped out in a scam linked to a second-hand trading platform.

The woman said the incident happened about two months ago and that she has since experienced a range of emotions, from sadness and depression to anger and eventual acceptance.

“I keep reminding myself that I'm still young and can earn the money back,” she wrote, adding that she was grateful not to have fallen into debt.

Although she did not reveal exactly how she was deceived, many netizens speculated that she may have fallen victim to a phishing scam involving a fake link sent through an online marketplace platform.

The post drew widespread attention, with many users sharing similar experiences. Some said they had lost hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars in similar scams, while others warned victims to beware of fraudsters who claim they can help recover stolen funds.

Many commenters encouraged the woman to stay positive, saying she still had time to rebuild her savings and move forward. Others also cautioned her against falling victim to so-called recovery scams, warning that scammers often target victims a second time by offering false promises of retrieving lost money.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓